PRP – HIV infection risk???

Last week there were numerous news reports about 2 patients who likely had contracted HIV from a spa in New Mexico, and may also have been exposed to hepatitis B and C. The patients had gotten a vampire facial, a common PRP procedure made famous by Kim Kardashian. The news media stated the investigation is ongoing, but likely this was from contaminated equipment and many other people may have been exposed. The spa has since been closed.

PRP (platelet rich plasma) has been around for over 20 years, and used by many specialties. PRP treatments include the O-shot (orgasm shot) for enhanced vaginal sensation and decreased urinary incontinence, P-shot (priapus shot) for enhanced penile sensation and performance as well as treatment of Peyronies, vampire facial and facelift for rejuvenating the skin, joint injections to reduce inflammation and pain, hair loss treatments and others. A patient’s blood is drawn, spun down to select out the concentrated platelets and reinjected into the desired area. Sometimes the reinjection is combined with microneedling. When done correctly, there should be NO risk of cross contamination. Legitimate places that do this will use sterile, non-reusable equipment and should be willing to show the patient all the equipment used. Cross contamination can happen if needles or blood processing equipment is reused, or if the microneedling device isn’t completely sealed. This allows blood from different people to mix and can cause severe infections.

At Medical Aesthetics of New England, rest assured that we have a lot of experience with PRP, and are certified in the Vampire Facial and Facelift, O-shot, P-shot, etc. We use the Pure PRP II system, a completely sterile, single use system that optimizes the concentration of platelets by double spinning your own blood. We may also use the Skin Pen microneedling system, which is engineered to not allow any cross contamination. No matter which system is used on you, your provider should always be willing to show you what they are using, so that you have the confidence that your procedure is safe and effective.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call us at 978 263-1406.